Facebook said that more than 290,000 accounts followed at least one of the fake pages (PA) [19659003] Facebook finds "sophisticated" efforts to disrupt elections
Independent.ie
Facebook unleashed a storm Tuesday, announcing that he had discovered "sophisticated" efforts, possibly linked to Russia, to manipulate US policy and, by extension, the upcoming mid-term elections.
Facebook unleashed a storm Tuesday, announcing that he had discovered "sophisticated", possibly related, efforts to Russia, to manipulate US policy and by extension the next mid-term elections.
The company was careful to cover his ad. it did not connect the effort directly to Russia or mid-term, now less than a hundred days.
His findings were limited to 32 apparently fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram, which the company removed because they were involved in "coordinated" and "unauthentic" political behavior.
But official Washington went ballistic anyway, especially because the reported activity reflected so closely the efforts of Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election.
Nearly 300 000 people followed at least one of the recently banned stories and thousands showed interest in the events that they promoted.
"It's an absolute attack on our democracy," said Democratic Senator Mark Warner. intelligence committee and one of the many politicians Facebook had briefed in advance.
A spokesman for the Senate Judiciary's President, Chuck Grbadley, said Facebook had informed his office that "a limited group of Russian actors attempted to spread misinformation to the public." 39, help from his means ".
The accounts identified were intended to "promote divisions and oppose Americans," writes Ben Nimmo and Graham Brookie of the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab in a blog. post on Tuesday.
The non-profit organization works with Facebook to find and badyze abuse on its service.
The perpetrators, Facebook notes, were "more attentive to cover their footsteps" than in 2016, in part because of the catches to prevent abuse in the past year.
For example, they used virtual private networks and Internet telephony services to hide their sites and paid third parties to serve advertisements on their behalf.
After it became clear that Russia-related actors were using social media to influence the 2016 US elections, Facebook stepped up countermeasures to prevent a repeat.
He cracked down on false accounts and tried to slow the spread of false news and misinformation through auditors of external facts.
The company also announced new guidelines regarding political advertisements, requiring the disclosure of who paid for them and the maintenance of a database.
I am happy to see that Facebook is taking a necessary step to limit the use of their platform by foreign influence campaigns. The purpose of these operations is to sow discord, mistrust and division. https://t.co/Fzwr1QFfG0
Facebook has increased spending on these and other measures, so much so that it finally scared investors with a lower profitability forecast last Wednesday.
Facebook shares fell quickly by almost 20% and did not recover.
While the company does not say who is behind these efforts, Facebook has revealed links between the accounts that it has just removed and those created by the influence effort of 2016.
For example, Atlantic Council researchers noted "language patterns that indicate non-native English and a systematic translation error, as well as a crushing focus on polarizing issues ".
The accounts seemed focused on building an online audience and moving to offline events, such as protests.
The first page was created in March 2017.
Facebook said that more than 290,000 accounts followed at least the fake pages.
The most popular Facebook pages have names like "Aztlan Warriors", "Black Elevation", "Mindful Being" and "Resisters".
Facebook has not provided detailed descriptions of these pages. But their names are similar to the groups established in 2016 by Russian agents to manipulate Americans with particular ethnic, cultural or political identities. This effort was aimed at both liberal and conservative people.
This time, however, found Facebook pages focused exclusively on the involvement and influence of the left of the American political spectrum, according to Atlantic Council researchers. Facebook says the pages included about 150 ads for $ 11,000 on Facebook and Instagram, paid in US and Canadian dollars. The first announcement was created in April 2017; the last was created in June 2018.
During a conference call Tuesday, Facebook's leaders refused to say much more, especially if the pages covered a range of political views and if the accounts mentioned specific candidates or politicians. there is still a long way to go before the mid-term to harden our defenses, as the bad foreign actors are using exactly the same manual that they used in 2016 – dividing us into political and ideological lines.
As Dan Coats said, the warning lights flash red. https://t.co/ifev077BHe
The California representative Adam Schiff, the chief democrat of the House's intelligence committee, said that more work had to be done before the mid-term elections.
"The bad foreign players use exactly the same manual that they used in 2016," he said. They "divide us along political and ideological lines, to the detriment of our cherished democratic system."
The intelligence group plans a hearing in early September with Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook director, Jack Dorsey, chief executive of Twitter, and A Google leader
President Donald Trump has offered conflicting messages about Russia's interference, sometimes even calling it a "hoax".
After asking if the Russians would try to interfere again earlier this month, he acknowledged last week in a tweet that the midterms were a likely target. But he said the Democrats, not his Republican colleagues, would be those supported by Russia.
Tuesday, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that Mr. Trump "has made it clear that his administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our electoral process of any nation-state or country." other malicious actors. "
